It’s around 1 p.m. in the east, and so far, there haven’t been any reports of ICE agents at polling places, intimidating voters.
So far, there also haven’t been any reports of National Guard troops at polling places, or seizing ballots.
So far, there haven’t been any reports of inappropriate police activity at polling places. In Baltimore, police responded to a juvenile shot near Edmondson Heights Elementary School on Monday night; the school is a polling place. In Killingly, Conn., officials confirmed a person was killed in a police-related incident unrelated to the election or the voting process, and the polling site remained open for voters.
Things could change between now and the end of the day. But so far, regarding these potential threats to the election process, Election Day 2026 is smooth sailing.
Several times I’ve wondered if this fear-mongering by Democrats was turning into a self-fulfilling prophecy; the more they warned of ICE harassment and seized ballots and other chaos on Election Day, the more certain voters might think that voting just wasn’t worth the risk or the hassle.
What we do have, however, is widespread problems in New York’s Westchester County, because apparently the paper used in the ballots is too thick for the voting machines.
Voters and officials reported that voting machines were not accepting paper ballots throughout the county early Tuesday morning, but local leaders urged voters to stay in line and said their votes will be counted. The county elections agency said that once ballots are filled out, they will be placed in emergency ballot bags, which will be secured and monitored by poll workers.
The Westchester Board of Elections initially said in a statement that a paper thickness problem prevented the devices from accepting ballots, but later updated the statement and removed mention of the issue. The county board is responsible for the ballots and the machines, which are supposed to be tested before Election Day.
Westchester County, home of some of America’s wealthiest suburbs, cannot plausibly claim that a lack of funding caused this screw-up.
They knew Election Day is the first Tuesday in November, right? It’s not like Easter, fellas, it doesn’t move around the calendar.
UPDATE: The New York State Board of Elections has issued a statement that the problems stem from an update to the machines that was done after the initial testing for Election Day, and that there are no issues with the ballot paper.